He has to get
his supply from the vegetable and animal kingdoms. The giving of
inorganic iron is folly and helps to ruin the teeth and the stomach of
the one who takes it. In the form of hemoglobin this element is the
chief agent in carrying oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the
body. In the manufacture of foods, much of the iron is lost. For
instance, whole wheat flour contains about ten times as much iron as
does the white flour. Too little iron causes, among other ills, anemia,
and if the iron is very low, chlorosis or the green sickness may ensue.
_Magnesium_ is found principally as phosphate in the bones. It is
present both in animal and vegetable foods. Its function in the body is
not well understood, but it appears to assist the phosphorus.
_Silicon_ is found in traces in the human body. It is supplied in small
quantities in nearly all of our foods, and therefore we must take it for
granted that it is necessary, although we are in the dark as to its
uses. It is very abundant in various rocks. The cereals are especially
rich in silicon. In wheat it is found in the bran and is removed from
the white flour.
The elements mentioned are the most important in the body, though others
are found in traces.
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